BasementSoil

Oklahoma: basement moisture and foundation risk by county

77 counties, ranked by our combined index. Highest combined risk is Custer County (61), lowest is Latimer County (27). The worst soil for foundation cracks specifically is in Caddo County.

Where in Oklahoma the ground is worse

Every county in the state, coloured by the soil values below. Click a county to open its report; switch what the colour means with the buttons. The pattern is geology, not administration — risk stops at the edge of a physiographic region, not at a county line.

Adair County, OK — combined 30/100, moisture 34, movement 25, water table 30Alfalfa County, OK — combined 45/100, moisture 44, movement 58, water table 30Atoka County, OK — combined 49/100, moisture 43, movement 60, water table 46Beaver County, OK — combined 37/100, moisture 34, movement 57, water table 16Beckham County, OK — combined 51/100, moisture 42, movement 80, water table 30Blaine County, OK — combined 47/100, moisture 42, movement 66, water table 30Bryan County, OK — combined 49/100, moisture 42, movement 61, water table 46Caddo County, OK — combined 59/100, moisture 45, movement 100, water table 30Canadian County, OK — combined 52/100, moisture 44, movement 68, water table 46Carter County, OK — combined 58/100, moisture 42, movement 89, water table 46Cherokee County, OK — combined 34/100, moisture 32, movement 39, water table 30Choctaw County, OK — combined 32/100, moisture 33, movement 43, water table 16Cimarron County, OK — combined 35/100, moisture 34, movement 41, water table 30Cleveland County, OK — combined 56/100, moisture 44, movement 79, water table 46Coal County, OK — combined 45/100, moisture 41, movement 73, water table 16Comanche County, OK — combined 51/100, moisture 41, movement 81, water table 30Cotton County, OK — combined 54/100, moisture 40, movement 92, water table 30Craig County, OK — combined 33/100, moisture 30, movement 38, water table 30Creek County, OK — combined 50/100, moisture 40, movement 90, water table 16Custer County, OK — combined 61/100, moisture 40, movement 100, water table 46Delaware County, OK — combined 31/100, moisture 32, movement 29, water table 30Dewey County, OK — combined 50/100, moisture 44, movement 83, water table 16Ellis County, OK — combined 55/100, moisture 41, movement 93, water table 30Garfield County, OK — combined 49/100, moisture 45, movement 69, water table 30Garvin County, OK — combined 56/100, moisture 42, movement 84, water table 46Grady County, OK — combined 47/100, moisture 40, movement 69, water table 30Grant County, OK — combined 50/100, moisture 40, movement 66, water table 46Greer County, OK — combined 55/100, moisture 43, movement 100, water table 16Harmon County, OK — combined 52/100, moisture 40, movement 73, water table 46Harper County, OK — combined 56/100, moisture 40, movement 87, water table 46Haskell County, OK — combined 30/100, moisture 30, movement 31, water table 30Hughes County, OK — combined 52/100, moisture 43, movement 79, water table 30Jackson County, OK — combined 47/100, moisture 40, movement 80, water table 16Jefferson County, OK — combined 56/100, moisture 45, movement 80, water table 46Johnston County, OK — combined 52/100, moisture 44, movement 80, water table 30Kay County, OK — combined 58/100, moisture 42, movement 100, water table 30Kingfisher County, OK — combined 56/100, moisture 44, movement 93, water table 30Kiowa County, OK — combined 52/100, moisture 41, movement 93, water table 16Latimer County, OK — combined 27/100, moisture 33, movement 28, water table 16Le Flore County, OK — combined 35/100, moisture 34, movement 39, water table 30Lincoln County, OK — combined 51/100, moisture 44, movement 77, water table 30Logan County, OK — combined 49/100, moisture 44, movement 69, water table 30Love County, OK — combined 57/100, moisture 43, movement 86, water table 46Major County, OK — combined 43/100, moisture 44, movement 60, water table 16Marshall County, OK — combined 57/100, moisture 40, movement 89, water table 46Mayes County, OK — combined 27/100, moisture 33, movement 16, water table 30McClain County, OK — combined 58/100, moisture 42, movement 88, water table 46McCurtain County, OK — combined 33/100, moisture 31, movement 37, water table 30McIntosh County, OK — combined 61/100, moisture 41, movement 100, water table 46Murray County, OK — combined 55/100, moisture 42, movement 91, water table 30Muskogee County, OK — combined 47/100, moisture 41, movement 67, water table 30Noble County, OK — combined 58/100, moisture 43, movement 89, water table 46Nowata County, OK — combined 45/100, moisture 41, movement 73, water table 16Okfuskee County, OK — combined 52/100, moisture 40, movement 84, water table 30Oklahoma County, OK — combined 47/100, moisture 43, movement 64, water table 30Okmulgee County, OK — combined 56/100, moisture 45, movement 100, water table 16Osage County, OK — combined 53/100, moisture 41, movement 96, water table 16Ottawa County, OK — combined 34/100, moisture 30, movement 41, water table 30Pawnee County, OK — combined 45/100, moisture 43, movement 60, water table 30Payne County, OK — combined 50/100, moisture 44, movement 72, water table 30Pittsburg County, OK — combined 47/100, moisture 44, movement 63, water table 30Pontotoc County, OK — combined 55/100, moisture 42, movement 91, water table 30Pottawatomie County, OK — combined 51/100, moisture 40, movement 81, water table 30Pushmataha County, OK — combined 33/100, moisture 31, movement 39, water table 30Roger Mills County, OK — combined 61/100, moisture 41, movement 100, water table 46Rogers County, OK — combined 52/100, moisture 44, movement 69, water table 46Seminole County, OK — combined 53/100, moisture 44, movement 82, water table 30Sequoyah County, OK — combined 56/100, moisture 45, movement 91, water table 30Stephens County, OK — combined 52/100, moisture 43, movement 81, water table 30Texas County, OK — combined 35/100, moisture 30, movement 45, water table 30Tillman County, OK — combined 53/100, moisture 40, movement 75, water table 46Tulsa County, OK — combined 46/100, moisture 42, movement 62, water table 30Wagoner County, OK — combined 49/100, moisture 40, movement 75, water table 30Washington County, OK — combined 57/100, moisture 40, movement 100, water table 30Washita County, OK — combined 43/100, moisture 44, movement 60, water table 16Woods County, OK — combined 49/100, moisture 41, movement 75, water table 30Woodward County, OK — combined 49/100, moisture 44, movement 79, water table 16
  • Low (0–27)
  • Moderate (28–49)
  • Elevated (50–74)
  • High (75–100)

County boundaries: US Census TIGER (public domain), simplified for display. Colours are our index from USDA SSURGO fields where loaded, otherwise from our regional model — each county page states which. How the index is calculated.

CountyIndexMoistureCracksWater tableRegion
Custer County614010046Permian red beds
McIntosh County614110046Permian red beds
Roger Mills County614110046Permian red beds
Caddo County594510030Permian red beds
Carter County58428946Permian red beds
Kay County584210030Permian red beds
McClain County58428846Permian red beds
Noble County58438946Permian red beds
Love County57438646Permian red beds
Marshall County57408946Permian red beds
Washington County574010030Permian red beds
Cleveland County56447946Permian red beds
Garvin County56428446Permian red beds
Harper County56408746Permian red beds
Jefferson County56458046Permian red beds
Kingfisher County56449330Permian red beds
Okmulgee County564510016Permian red beds
Sequoyah County56459130Permian red beds
Ellis County55419330Permian red beds
Greer County554310016Permian red beds
Murray County55429130Permian red beds
Pontotoc County55429130Permian red beds
Cotton County54409230Permian red beds
Osage County53419616Permian red beds
Seminole County53448230Permian red beds
Tillman County53407546Permian red beds
Canadian County52446846Permian red beds
Harmon County52407346Permian red beds
Hughes County52437930Permian red beds
Johnston County52448030Permian red beds
Kiowa County52419316Permian red beds
Okfuskee County52408430Permian red beds
Rogers County52446946Permian red beds
Stephens County52438130Permian red beds
Beckham County51428030Permian red beds
Comanche County51418130Permian red beds
Lincoln County51447730Permian red beds
Pottawatomie County51408130Permian red beds
Creek County50409016Permian red beds
Dewey County50448316Permian red beds
Grant County50406646Permian red beds
Payne County50447230Permian red beds
Atoka County49436046Permian red beds
Bryan County49426146Permian red beds
Garfield County49456930Permian red beds
Logan County49446930Permian red beds
Wagoner County49407530Permian red beds
Woods County49417530Permian red beds
Woodward County49447916Permian red beds
Blaine County47426630Permian red beds
Grady County47406930Permian red beds
Jackson County47408016Permian red beds
Muskogee County47416730Permian red beds
Oklahoma County47436430Permian red beds
Pittsburg County47446330Permian red beds
Tulsa County46426230Permian red beds
Alfalfa County45445830Permian red beds
Coal County45417316Permian red beds
Nowata County45417316Permian red beds
Pawnee County45436030Permian red beds
Major County43446016Permian red beds
Washita County43446016Permian red beds
Beaver County37345716High Plains
Cimarron County35344130High Plains
Le Flore County35343930Ouachita Mountains
Texas County35304530High Plains
Cherokee County34323930Ozark highland
Ottawa County34304130Ozark highland
Craig County33303830Ozark highland
McCurtain County33313730Ouachita Mountains
Pushmataha County33313930Ouachita Mountains
Choctaw County32334316Ouachita Mountains
Delaware County31322930Ozark highland
Adair County30342530Ozark highland
Haskell County30303130Ouachita Mountains
Latimer County27332816Ouachita Mountains
Mayes County27331630Ozark highland

Values from USDA NRCS SSURGO where available, otherwise our regional model — each county page states which. Methodology.

The physiographic regions inside Oklahoma

State lines are political; soil follows geology. These are the distinct ground types inside Oklahoma and why each behaves the way it does.

Permian red beds

The red clay under Oklahoma City and Fort Worth. Strongly expansive, and because the climate swings between drought and heavy spring storms, the wet-dry cycle is severe. Pier-and-beam and post-tension slabs both move here.

62 counties: Alfalfa County, Atoka County, Beckham County, Blaine County, Bryan County, Caddo County, Canadian County, Carter County, Cleveland County, Coal County, Comanche County, Cotton County, Creek County, Custer County, Dewey County, Ellis County, Garfield County, Garvin County, Grady County, Grant County, Greer County, Harmon County, Harper County, Hughes County, Jackson County, Jefferson County, Johnston County, Kay County, Kingfisher County, Kiowa County, Lincoln County, Logan County, Love County, Major County, Marshall County, McClain County, McIntosh County, Murray County, Muskogee County, Noble County, Nowata County, Okfuskee County, Oklahoma County, Okmulgee County, Osage County, Pawnee County, Payne County, Pittsburg County, Pontotoc County, Pottawatomie County, Roger Mills County, Rogers County, Seminole County, Sequoyah County, Stephens County, Tillman County, Tulsa County, Wagoner County, Washington County, Washita County, Woods County, Woodward County

Ozark highland

Shallow bedrock and karst pathways. Shrink-swell is low, but water moves through the subsurface in concentrated routes — a basement can be dry for twenty years and then leak through one specific joint in a single event.

6 counties: Adair County, Cherokee County, Craig County, Delaware County, Mayes County, Ottawa County

Ouachita Mountains

Steep east-west ridges with shallow bedrock. Sloping sites mean water arrives laterally along the rock surface, so a house cut into a hillside collects it at the uphill wall. Volume change is not the issue; drainage on a slope is.

6 counties: Choctaw County, Haskell County, Latimer County, Le Flore County, McCurtain County, Pushmataha County

High Plains

The water table is tens of metres down and rainfall is low. Basement damp here is nearly always condensation or a failed supply line rather than groundwater — and that distinction is worth thousands of dollars.

3 counties: Beaver County, Cimarron County, Texas County

Page data updated